Inflatable life jacket



Oct. 10, 1967 PEELER ETAL 3,345,557

INFLATABLE LIFE JACKET Filed July 13, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet l (fizz/extol: Donald H. Fwkzr William H Payne AT TOR NEY Oct. 10, 1967 D. H. PEELEFQ ETAL 3,345,657

INFLATABLE LIFE JACKET Filed July 13, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 fizz 621mm Donald H. Peeler William H Payne ATTGRNE Y.

United States Patent Oflice 3,345,657 Patented Oct. 10, 1967 3,345,657 INFLATABLE LIFE JACKET Donald H. Peeler and William H. Payne, Raleigh, N.C., assignors to Payne & Associates, Inc., a corporation of North Carolina Filed July 13, 1965, Ser. No. 471,634 7 Claims. (Cl. 9316) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An inflatable life jacket bladder configuration forms a collar lobe, left and right torso lobes and a sub-collar lobe. A fabric cover having different degrees of stretch laterally and longitudinally encompasses the bladder. The fabric stretch controls the manner in which the various lobes inflate when connected to a pressurized cartridge or the like. A protective garment covers both the fabric cover and bladder and has edges which release under pressure.

This invention relates to an inflatable life jacket and, more particularly, to an inflatable life jacket having a plurality of textile layers covering a bladder some of which layers are of different character.

In general, life jackets heretofore in use were bulky, unsightly and were not adapted to be worn at all times. Such jackets either used kapok to give the required buoyancy or were air inflatable. Kapok is inherently bulky and the pneumatic type employed relatively inelastic, stiff external fabric coverings for the bladder construction which coverings were bulky and required excessively quantities of material. Life jackets employing a pleated construction are not as bulky but are considered wasteful of material.

Life jackets of this type have been developed primarily for use by military air pilots when flying at sea, seamen, dock workers and for those working adjacent water. A life jacket which may be worn beneath outer protective garments and which may be worn for extended periods of time without causing any discomfort to the wearer has been a recognized need in the art. The problem as heretofore existed has been how to provide thin, pneumatically inflatable, lobes which may be incorporated into an outer garment without causing discomfort to the wearer. Therefore, an object of this invention is to provide a life jacket which is aesthetically pleasing and which may be worn without interfering with the wearers movements.

Another object of this invention is to provide a life jacket which is pneumatically inflatable and which is adapted to provide the buoyancy necessary to keep the wearer safely and comfortably afloat.

A further object of this invention is to provide a life jacket having an inflatable bladder encased by a one-way stretch woven fabric.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a life jacket which may be inflated instantly should the wearer accidentally fall into the water and which is adapted to position the wearers head in an upright position and out of the water.

Still another object of this invention is to provide an inflatable life jacket which has an outer bladder encompassing fabric housing that automatically opens to allow for expansion of the bladder once a pneumatic fluid has entered the same.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a pneumatically operated life jacket which has an outer covering that may be easily integrally incorporated into garments such as coats, jackets and the like.

The above objects and other novel features of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of the invention as shown in the drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is an elevation view of the life jacket showing the bladder enclosed in an outer protective garment and cover.

FIGURE 2 is an elevation view of the life jacket showing the outer garment in an open position and the inner bladder protective cover in a folded position.

FIGURE 3 is an elevation view of the life jacket showing the outer garment in an open position and the inner bladder cover arranged for the bladder to be inflated and with certain straps eliminated.

FIGURE 4 is a vertical section view of the uninflated bladder and the inner expandable bladder covering taken generally along lines 3-3 of FIGURE 3 in the direction of the arrows.

FIGURE 5 is an elevation view of the bladder in a non-inflated position showing, partially in dashed lines, the air passageways into the bladder and between the sections thereof.

FIGURE 6 is a side elevation view of the inflated bladder and inner bladder covering and the outer garment cover but without the garment straps.

FIGURE 7 is a side elevation view of the inflated bladder positioned on the wearer but without the garment straps.

FIGURE 8 is a front view similar to FIGURE 7.

A preferred embodiment of this invention discloses a neoprene bladder contourly enclosed by a one-way stretchable fabric cover which may be made integral therewith. The bladder and its cover is rigidly attached to a portion of and is adapted to be encased in a substantially nonstretchable fabric housing when not in use.

The bladder is comprised of a plurality of pneumatically interconnected lobes including a collar lobe, a left and a right torso lobe and a subcollar lobe which is an integral continuation of both torso lobes and which is connected by a passageway to the collar lobe. The bladder may be quickly inflated by one of a plurality of pressure cartridges, such as by a pair of small carbon dioxide cylinders, which are spatially mounted about the torso lobes. An oral inflation valve and tube are provided which are adapted to provide a means for oral inflation and for keeping the bladder under suflicient pressure and for deflating the same.

The bladder is constructed of an elastic material, neoprene being preferred, in the form of a tube encased by a one-way stretch fabric cover. The fabric cover is woven and is comprised of stretchable threads such as spandex which allow for approximately an percent elongation in the fabric and substantially non-elastic threads such as nylon, polyester and the like. Other fibers may be substituted; however, synthetic fibers are preferred for they withstand weather, bacteria and other corrosive agents. The fabric may be woven with the stretchable threads occupying either the warp or the weft positions. In physically laying the bladder fabric cover on the bladder, it is preferred however that all stretchable fibers be positioned so as to extend laterally in the torso portions and =9 so as to extend longitudinally in the collar portion. In the torso lobes, expansion is obtained primarily outwardly and not downwardly so that the lobes remain in substantially the same position on the wearer and do not interfere with other garments which he may be wearing. In the collar lobe, a longitudinal expansion effect according to the invention results in a billowing of the portion directly behind the head and on each side thereof thereby tilting the head forward and holding the same erect in a position out of the water.

When the bladder is stored and uninflated the bladder and its cover are housed in a substantially non-elastic outer garment which may be made from suitable nonelastic threads such as polyester fiber. The garment comprises one integral somewhat U-shaped fabric sheet and has three foldable flap portions or sections which house respectively the right torso lobe, the collar and subcollar, and the left torso lobe. When in a folded position, the

- edge of each foldable section is received by a corresponding or matching edge of the central area of the fabric or by the edge of an adjacent foldable section. All edges are provided with a pressure sensitive fastening means which, when associated with a cooperating edge, forms a pressure sensitive seam that may be broken upon the application of a sufficient pressure on the surfaces joined to the mentioned edges in the direction of intended separation. The pressure sensitive fastening means as shown in the drawings is a Velcro Fastener which may be purchased from the American Velcro Corporation, 681 Fifth Ave., New York, N.Y. Other pressure sensitive fastening means such as snaps or the like may also be used. The inflatable life jacket may be attached to the wearer by straps or by the integration of the base surface of the non-elastic outer garment into the wearers jacket or coat.

Referring to the drawings, FIGURE 1 indicates the position that the life jacket 10 will assume when worn deflated. Life jacket 10 includes a bladder-cover combination 11 which is comprised of a neoprene tube 12 and a one-way stretch fabric 13 which encloses tube 12 and defines the limits of expansion thereof. The bladdercover combination 11 may be conveniently divided into a right torso lobe 14, a left torso lobe 15, a subcollar 16 which is U-shaped in design and is an integral extension of left and right torso lobes 15 and 14, and collar 17 which is pneumatically connected to subcollar 16 by means of passageway 18. Collar 17 is annular in design and is provided with lapels 19 and 20 which form an opening that provides access for the head of the user into collar 17. Lobes 14 and 15 have respectively mounted thereon pressurized pneumatic cylinders and 26 which by pulling hand grips 27, 27 release a pneumatic fluid into the bladder tube 12 thereby filling the same. Collar 17 is provided with an oral inflation valve and tube 28 which is pneumatically connected thereto by opening 29. Oral inflation valve and tube are not shown in detail but should be considered as being of the type found on all military orally inflatable items.

The outer protective garment comprising the fabric sheet 30 is made from a substantially non-elastic fiber such as polyester and is designed so that it consists of one homogenous piece of cloth. Garment 30 is preferably of woven construction and is comprised substantially of three sections with one section 31 when folded on itself being adapted to house right torso lobe 14, another section 32 being the mirror image of section 31, when folded on itself being adapted to receive left torso lobe 15 and the third section 33, when folded on itself being adapted to enclose collar 17 and subcollar 16. Both the inner and outer edges of garment 30 are adapted to be fastened to a corresponding edge to form a seam in a pressure sensitive relationship so that when a predetermined amount of pressure is applied to the seam by the inflated bladder, the edges separate. For example, edge 35 is adapted to become pressure-releasably attached to edge 36 by superposing the flap portion 37 of garment section 31 on the garment base or central portion 38 of garment section 31. Upon injecting a pressurized pneumatic fluid into right torso lobe 14, connected edges 35 and 36 separate thereby allowing right torso lobe 14 to become inflated. The same principle is followed in folding garment sections 32 and 33. The fabric sheet making up garment 30 is integrally attached to the bladder-cover combination 11 containing right and left torso lobes 14 and 15, collar 17 and subcollar 16 by means of stitching adhesive or the like (not shown) applied along the inside edges of garment 30.

Life jacket 10 is firmly secured to the person of the wearer by means of straps 40 which are attached to garment 30 or by incorporating the base portions of garment 30 into a section of a jacket to be worn by the user as shown in FIGURE 7.

In operation, life jacket 10 which is in a normal wearing condition as shown in FIGURE 1 is strapped to the person of the wearer. The lobe and collar portions are folded substantially flatly and are contained in the pressure-releasably secured flap portions of the fabric sheet making up garment 30. Garment 30 in effect forms a housing or closure means for the bladder-cover combination 11 since each edge of garment 30 is pressure-releasably secured to a corresponding edge by means of a Velcro Fastener or the like. Upon being immersed in water, the user manually separates edge 35 from edge 36 just suflicient to gain access to hand grips 27, 27. He then pulls hand grips 27, 27' which release the pneumatic fluid held in containers 25, 26. As the pneumatic fluid enters the bladder-cover combination 11 and builds up pressure therein, the remainder of the seam formed by edges 35 and 36 automatically separates due to the pressure exerted thereon. Furthermore, all of the other pressure-releasable seams will automatically break apart due to the pressure. The bladder-cover combination 11 expands primarily outwardly and laterally in the torso portions and in the collar portion the expansion billows primarily upwardly and longitudinally or vertically in the area behind the neck of the user thereby maintaining the users head in the water in a position of maximum safety.

After rescue, the life jacket may be deflated by use of valve 28 and restored to operating condition by installing new pressure cylinders 27, 27' and securing the various mating pressure-releasable edges of the garment 30.

This invention is not be limited to the specific embodiment and features shown and described but is to be given the scope of the following claims.

We claim:

1. An inflatable life jacket to be worn about the body and neck of a person comprising:

(a) an expandable bladder having pneumatically connecting torso lobe portions to be positioned adjacent to and in vertical alignment with the frontal body portions of the wearer and collar portions extending in substantially the horizontal plane around the neck;

(b) a woven fabric bladder cover encompassing said bladder and conforming in shape therewith, said fabric encompassing said torso lobe bladder portion being extensible to expand in the lateral direction while having limited extensibility and expansion in the vertical direction and said fabric encompassing said collar bladder portion being extensible to expand in the vertical direction while having limited extensibility in the horizontal direction;

(c) a garment designed to be secured to the body of the user of said jacket and having a central sheet portion with integral flap portions extending therefrom, said central sheet portion having portions of said bladder cover permanently secured thereto, said flap portions being designed to fold over said central portion and provide an outer protective cover for said bladder cover;

((1) pressure releasable fastening means secured to the marginal edges of said flap portions and to respective mating edges of said central portion, said fastening means being effective to form pressure releasable seams between saidflap portion edges and said central portion edges;

(e) means for inflating said bladder and establishing said pressure whereby to release said seams and thereby release said lobe and collar portions to expand in predetermined directions to the limits permitted by saidbladder cover fabric; and

(f) means mounted on said garme'ntfor securing said garment tosaid user.

2. An inflatable life jacket as claimed in claim 1 wherein said inflating means comprises a pneumatically pressurized capsule secured to said jacket and means to manually release the pressurized pneumatic fluid confined therein.

3. An inflatable life jacket to be worn about the body and neck of a person comprising:

(a) an expandable bladder having a right torso lobe, a left torso lobe pneumatically connected to said right torso lobe by a tubular subcollar and a collar partially residing on and pneumatically attached to said subcollar said left and right torso lobes being positioned adjacent to and in vertical alignment with the frontal body portions of the wearer and said collar and subcollar extending in substantially the horizontal plane around the neck;

(b) a woven fabric bladder cover encompassing said fabric encompassing said bladder forming said left and right torso lobes being extensible to expand in the lateral direction while having limited extensibility for expansion in the vertical direction and said fabric encompassing said bladder forming said collar and said subcollar being extensible to expand in the vertical direction while having limited extensibility in the horizontal direction;

(c) a garment designed to be secured to the body of the user of said jacket and having a central inverted U-shaped sheet portion, said central sheet portion having a plurality of integral flaps with one extending from each leg portion of said U and a pair of such flaps extending from the top portion of said U, each of said leg portions of said central sheet portion receiving a selected torso lobe with said top portion receiving said subcollar, each of said central sheet portions having portions of a corresponding and contiguous bladder cover permanently secured thereto, each of said leg flap portions being designed to fold over an integral central portion including said bladder cover portion being contiguous therewith and the flap portion extending from said top portion being designed to fold over another integral central portion including a bladder subcollar cover portion made integral therewith, said flap portions thereby collectively providing an outer protective cover for said bladder cover;

(d) pressure releasable fastening means secured to the marginal edges of said flap portions and to respective mating edges of said central portion, said fastening means being effective to form pressure releasable seams between said flap edges and said central portion edges;

(e) means for inflating said bladder and establishing said pressure whereby to release said seams and thereby release said lobe and collar portions to expand in predetermined directions to the limits permitted by said bladder cover fabric; and

(f) means mounted on said garment for securing said garment to said user.

4. The inflatable life jacket of claim 3 wherein means for securing said garment to said user comprises a plurality of straps with one being integrally connected at one end to each leg portion and to said top portion of said central sheet portion of said garment, said straps having a loop at the other end and a belt being slidably received by each loop of each strap, whereby said belt and said loops are adapted to securely position said inflatable life jacket about the neck and body of the user.

5. The inflatable life jacket of claim 3 wherein said central inverted U-shaped sheet portion is made integral with a separate garment Worn by the user where-by said life jacket is securely positioned on the body of the user.

6. An inflatable life jacket comprising:

(a) an expandable bladder having a right torso lobe, a left torso lobe pneumatically connected to said right torso lobe by a tubular subcollar, and a collar partially residing on and pneumatically connected to said subcollar said collar being substantially annular in shape and being disjointed in the area vertically above the space between the left portion of said right torso lobe and the right portion of said left torso lobe;

(b) a woven fabric bladder cover being extensible in a predetermined direction while having limited extensibility in a transverse direction, said bladder cover encompassing said torso lobe to permit the same to expand primarily outwardly and laterally and encompassing said collar to permit the same to expand primarily outwardly and longitudinally;

(c) a garment designed to be secured to the body of the user of said jacket and having a central inverted U-shaped sheet portion, said central sheet portion having a plurality of integral flaps with one extending from each leg portion of said U and from the top portion of said U, each of said leg portions of said central sheet portion receiving a selected torso lobe with said top portion receiving said subcollar, each of said central sheet portions having corresponding and contiguous portions of said bladder cover permanently secured thereto, each of said leg flap portions being designed to fold over an integral sheet portion including said bladder cover portion being contiguous therewith and the flap portion extending from said top portion of said U being designed to fold over another integral central portion including a bladder subcollar cover portion made integral therewith, said flap portions collectively providing an outer protective cover for said bladder cover, said central inverted U-shaped sheet portion of said garment being made integral with a coat worn by a user whereby said life jacket is securely positioned on the body of said user;

((1) pressure releasable fastening means secured to the interior marginal edges of said flap portions, along the upper exterior lateral edges of said flap portions and to the respective mating edges of said central portion, said fastening means being effective to form pressure releasable seams between said flap edges and said central portion edges and between said upper exterior lateral edges of said leg flap portions and the lateral interior marginal edges of said top flap portion;

(e) a pneumatically pressurized capsule secured to said bladder cover, means to release the pressurized pneumatic fluid confined therein, and means for directing said pressurized pneumatic fluid into said bladder whereby said pressurized fluid is operative to release said seams and inflate said bladder.

7. An inflatable life jacket covering the front torso and neck portions of the wearer comprising:

(a) an expandable bladder forming a vertically arranged right torso lobe, a vertically arranged left torso lobe, a subcollar pneumatically connecting said right and left torso lobes and a substantially horizontally arranged annular collar partially residing on and being pneumatically connected to said subcollar, said collar being disjointed in the area vertically above the space between said right and left torso lobes;

(b) a woven fabric bladder cover encompassing said (d) means for inflating said bladder whereby said lobes bladder and conforming in shape therewith, said faband collars expand in said predetermined directions ric encompassing said bladder forming said right and to the limits permitted by said bladder covering fableft vertically arranged torso lobes being extensible ric. to expand in the horizontal direction while having 5 References Cited limited extensibility for expansion in the vertical di- UNITED STATES PATENTS 222 i fi l i f fi i f'g 1,096,573 5/1914 Tanaka 9-339 X r mg Y ange at an 1,677,083 7/1928 Heminger 9-311 subcollar being extensible to expand in the vertical 2 561 312 7/1951 Laszlo direction while having limited extensibility in the 10 3:22 :045 1 19 h 9 314 horizontal direction; (c) means for securing said left and right torso lobes FOREIGN PATENTS to and in vertical alignment with the front torso of 689,597 4/ 1953 Gr at Britain.

the wearer whereby said collar and subcollar are horizontally arranged about the neck of the wearer; 15 MILTON BUCHLER Pmnm'y Exammer' and T. W. BUCKMAN, Examiner. 

1. AN INFLATABLE LIFE JACKET TO BE WORN ABOUT THE BODY AND NECK OF A PERSON COMPRISING: (A) AN EXPANDABLE BLADDER HAVING PNEUMATICALLY CONNECTING TORSO LOBE PORTIONS TO BE POSITIONED ADJACENT TO AND IN VERTICAL ALIGNMENT WITH THE FRONTAL BODY PORTIONS OF THE WEARER AND COLLAR PORTIONS EXTENDING IN SUBSTANTIALLY THE HORIZONTAL PLANE AROUND THE NECK; (B) A WOVEN FABRIC BLADDER COVER ENCOMPASSING SAID BLADDER AND CONFORMING IN SHAPE THEREWITH, SAID FABRIC ENCOMPASSING SAID TORSO LOBE BLADDER PORTION BEING EXTENSIBLE TO EXPAND IN THE LATERAL DIRECTION WHILE HAVING LIMITED EXTENSIBILITY AND EXPANSION IN THE VERTICAL DIRECTION AND SAID FABRIC ENCOMPASSING SAID COLLAR BLADDER PORTION BEING EXTENSIBLE TO EXPAND IN THE VERTICAL DIRECTION WHILE HAVING LIMITED EXTENSIBILITY IN THE HORIZONTAL DIRECTION; (C) A GARMENT DESIGNED TO BE SECURED TO THE BODY OF THE USER OF SAID JACKET AND HAVING A CENTRAL SHEET PORTION WITH INTEGRAL FLAP PORTIONS EXTENDING THEREFROM, SAID CENTRAL SHEET PORTION HAVING PORTIONS OF SAID BLADDER COVER PERMANENTLY SECURED THERETO, SAID FLAP PORTIONS BEING DESIGNED TO FOLD OVER SAID CENTRAL PORTION AND PROVIDE AN OUTER PROTECTIVE COVER FOR SAID BLADDER COVER; (D) PRESSURE RELEASABLE FASTENING MEANS SECURED TO THE MARGINAL EDGES OF SAID FLAP PORTIONS AND TO RESPECTIVE MATING EDGES OF SAID CENTRAL PORTION, SAID FASTENING MEANS BEING EFFECTIVE TO FORM PRESSURE RELEASABLE SEAMS BETWEEN SAID FLAP PORTION EDGES AND SAID CENTRAL PORTION EDGES; (E) MEANS FOR INFLATING SAID BLADDER AND ESTABLISHING SAID PRESSURE WHEREBY TO RELEASE SAID SEAMS AND THEREBY RELEASE SAID LOBE AND COLLAR PORTIONS TO EXPAND IN PREDETERMINED DIRECTIONS TO THE LIMITS PERMITTED BY SAID BLADDER COVER FABRIC; AND (F) MEANS MOUNTED ON SAID GARMENT FOR SECURING SAID GARMENT TO SAID USER. 